12/25/09

Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") is the young Victoria. When we first meet her she is being browbeaten by her mother's advisor to sign a paper which will grant her mother authority to act as Regent when King William dies. Victoria knows the king wants her to inherit his throne, so she refuses. As things turn out, she is barely 18 when she becomes Queen of England. Of course, there is plotting and conniving enough to satisfy any History buff, but to me, the pleasure was watching the cream of British cinema take their turns in the spotlight.

Miranda Richardson ("The Lost Prince") is Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, completely under the sway of John Conroy, her advisor.

Mark Strong ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day") is that dastardly advisor who wants to continue to advise Victoria's mother if she becomes Regent, thus he would rule England.

Jim Broadbent ("Moulin Rouge!") is King William, childless and dyspeptic.

Rupert Friend ("Cheri") is Prince Albert dispatched from Saxe- Coburg to spy on the throne; he is ill-prepared for the task, he doesn't even know how to dance!

Paul Bettany ("Inkheart") is Lord Melbourne who steps in and advises the young queen, right down to a list of Ladies in Waiting.

Michael Maloney ("Me and Mrs. Jones") is Sir Robert Peel, the first elected official to cross Victoria after her coronation...to his regret.

This is a competently filmed history with a few technical glitches, which surprised us, but all in all, it is a painless way to learn a bit of history. Of course, some of it has been tweaked just a tad, but it IS, after all, a movie!